Okay Brainstormers.. If you had.....

I would invest in rental property to give me a monthly income. For one month's rent annually, you can get someone to manage the properties for you... take care of repairs, etc. while you're out of town. Of course be diligent in getting GOOD people.

Travel as long as you wish to. Have an emergency fund, find some hobby that makes you a little spending money, or if you love homesteading... stop for a month here or there and help on someone's farm in exchange for cash, room & board for a little while, repairs on your rv, or food for your trip.

Sounds like fun.

You really didn't give us enough info for us to give an educated opinion about this. Such as: any other source of income during your "gypsy" days, job for the future, etc. But assuming that 100K is all you have, without any other income, and you don't mind being left with a lower net worth once your roaming days are over, here's what I would do in order to minimize the effect on my pocket book and still get the wandering bug out of my system:

Spend at least two-thirds of it on real estate that you can come back to. If possible, find a little frame home in the country (or small town, etc.) that you can be comfortable in. Check with your accountant about capital gains on the sale of your home first so you won't be stuck with a huge tax bill. If say, you want to take off for a year or so, try to lease it out for a year before you go and have someone local manage the property for you. At least you will have something to show for it when you come back. Take the rest and spend on a truck, trailer, and for travel expenses. You won't be able to buy anything new, but for about $20K you should be able to get a reliable and comfortable rig. The other $14K is your expense money. If you don't travel too frequently and really look around for bargains at places to hook up, you can probably hold out a year or maybe a little more. Keep your fingers crossed that your truck doesn't break down. You can always keep your truck and trailer for when the bug strikes you in the future.

...................I, too, was going to buy a brand new 5th. wheel at around 30k. but, after much reflection have decided that would be a big mistake. I'm going to buy a "used, but small 5'ver", hopefully not over 5k. Then , will live in it while I build a 40 x 50 metal building to store possessions , workshop , and living area(20x50) . I've allocated about (15 to 18)k for raw land and about 4k for water well. I have a relatively low milage f250 diesel with 80k miles and an almost renovated f250, 4x4 , 77 ford flatbed but it gets 8 mpg.(ouch) but good farm truck. The only way I can make this workout and have any moola left over is to do most of the work myself. I also have trailer mounted welder , lots of tools , etc . Lets all hope we have made the right decisions........fordy...

See, there's the thing, cf. I don't know how old you are, but the rest of your life could be 10 years, 20 or 40 years. And 70 isn't necessarily the end --- but 80 is getting there.

Selling your place and getting that $100K may be the ONLY chance you ever have to grab some land with a home of some sort on it, etc., at a great price, not to mention to stash a fair amount away.

You also need to think about how much $$ you need to bring in each month in order to not just stay afloat but get a little ahead.

If you're 30, these kinds of issues aren't such a big deal. If you're 40 or 45, though, you need to start looking ahead and securing a place where you can plop down when your bones get to aching.

And $100K can be a huge amount or almost nothing, depending on what you do with it. For me, it's turned out to be a huge amount of money. But that's because I work as hard as I can to squeeze every little bit I can out of every nickel. But YMMV.

By the use of the term RV, have you excluded sailboats?
Galley, head and a bed. Still get to travel, stop over, & 'meet people'.
Sure you still have to rent a slip occasionally, but all the comforts & minimal fuel consumption. Toss on a moped for shopping.

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No lotus land ever cast its spell upon a man's heart more than Wyoming had enchanted mine.-The Virginian-Owen Wister-

A boat: a hole in the water surrounded by wood in which one pours money.

Me? I would buy the land and forget the RV thing, but that's just me. I got my traveling out of my system by camping in the back of my pickup with just a canopy - build a bunk across the front of the bed of the truck and that was that. To me nothing beats living in a place that other people RV to.

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Visit my new blog: deberosahomestead.wordpress.com

Traveling gets old - fast. Homeless ain't fun. Age and tired and unexpected illness don't work in a camper.

What would I do? I'd get a home with no mortgage where I could grow what we eat and not have a lot of fancy people telling me I had to paint my house a certain color and can't have a clothesline and calling the town complaining about my weeds (some people can't tell a tomato plant from a weed!) A place not on pavement because I'm sensitive to asphalt. And not too close to anyone because their bug sprays and bbq fires etc etc etc makes me ill.

I had a migrane yesterday because of the air pollution here. It always makes me cranky. Feels like another coming on today.

And they're right, $100,000 seems like a lot of money, but it can disappear in a hurry. (Not that I've ever had that much at once!)

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

I was thinking at one time to have maybe 2 - 5 acres here in NY with a spring on it. Put in a small septic tank, build a spring tank. put up a small concrete block building with steel door to house things you could leave here when you travel. That way taxes wouldn't be bad on the property, and you always have a place to call home. When you get tired of the travel, sell trailer and build small home on your land.

Live comfortably south of the Dixie line. Especially if you like running the fleamarket circuits.

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"I didn't have time to slay the dragon. It's on my To Do list!"

Chickflick,

I think I would approach things a little bit differently than most of the posts indicate. I would invest $95k and use $5k as a stake. The $95k I would probably put in TIPS (Inflation Indexed Treasury Bonds) You aren't going to make a lot of income but you are minimizing your risk to inflation.

With the $5k to get started I would find places to stay several months at a time making enough money for spending and moving on (eventually). If you feel a little more aggressive you could buy a home or condo for cash and get someone in there that is reliable, even if you have to offer a favorable rent. Maybe it's a relative or friend. If you are willing to spend 2 years there after your travels, any profit on the sale would be tax free. You won't have leverage from a mortgage but if you choose carefully you should get some appreciation.

As usual, just my 2 cents.

Mike

Ok, I have the PERFECT solution! (I get so much smarter after a glass of wine )

Buy the little place in the country (I assumed that was what you were selling, but I'll have to pay closer attention, I guess... ) and invite people to your house to visit. Depending on where you're located... north of the Mason Dixon line? I'll schedule a week in late May and maybe early October. south of the MDL? I'll take March.. yeah... I'll take the whole month of march, or maybe march AND april. Take 4 weeks a year to go on AWESOME vacations to the places you've ALWAYS wanted to go/see.

Make them buy the food and cook dinner for you & yours and them & theirs (use the dishwasher)- in exchange for a bed and bath. Better than travelling - you get to keep ALL your clothes with you ALL the time - homecooked meals with no preparation - sleep in your own soft comfy bed and be able to walk outside in your bare feet on your own soft grass anytime you want - more elbow room on rainy days - small grocery bill - and you can invite the people you really wish to meet, instead of ending up in the campsite next to that really annoying know-it-all whose married to the sweetest woman that never gets to talk.

Ok, then... i think I've talked myself into it. Who's coming over in September? (I don't like lima beans, cucumbers or veal) Brand new towels!!! High thread count sheets! And a cat that will make you feel like one of the family, leaving enough of her fur on you that you can make your own cat at home, after your vacation is over! Hmmm... a free souvenier!

Seriously... I'd still invest the money in rental real estate and enjoy some travel on the rental income... then I'd sell the rentals if I decided I'd had enough travelling.

I think your post is incongruent.

You ask what to do for living arrangements for the rest of your life, then talk about traveling in an RV. Those things don't go together in my mind.

I would not want an RV to be my final home! When I'm old and tired, I want a home...a real one with walls and all that!

If you are truly at the stage of life where this money has to provide living arrangements for the rest of your life, I would buy a house somewhere and invest the rest in some type of annuity or something to provide some income to live on.

RV's probably don't have the resale possibilities real estate does. Maintenance and operating expenses on an RV are far more than many pay in property taxes.

Jena

My suspicion is chickflick simply hasn't thought this through, and is suffering the desire of doing something she's wanted to do for a long time --- but also the conflict of a nagging little voice in the back of her head!!

So she just needs to sit down and do some reality checks. And depending on a lot of things, running around all over the countryside in one of those highway menaces (holy moly, it's scary to see one of those things coming at you on the roads around here ) might be just the thing. Or it might be a really bad idea.

Whatever the case, $100K IS enough to drive all over the place AND purchase real estate. Which isn't going to get any cheaper.

Good one, countrygirl! As a matter of fact, I've 'thought it through' till I'm blue in the face!!! Why ELSE would I leave it to THIS bunch for more ideas? LOL!! :worship:

I think what I may ULTIMATELY do is:

SELL this place (source of $$), which really IS a wonderful place (13 ac. 3/2/2/.. just too much);

Find a really SMALL LITTLE place, (5 ac. or less); make a cute TINY cabin/underground; (as off grid as possible)

Get a good (used $$) RV (if light weights are available Used yet) and run away when the mood hits me.

ALso will select place CLOSER to civizilation.. I. E. NOT NE Texas!!! So I can USE my finely honed skills and talents I've gained and educated myself for over a lifetime!

THANKS for all your ideas, gang!!

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"TIMSHEL"
Spoiler ALERT: For those of you who've never read Steinbeck's "East of Eden".... timshel means "thou mayest".

Hehe. Well, so much for my prognosticating abilities!

That sounds like a good plan to me. I have five acres and it's just enough --- maybe even a tad too much. But I like the extra space. But not so much that I'd want 13 acres which would be way too much, AFAIC!

And $100K is enough to get land and an RV, and put some aside.

All this talk of you having 100k and traveling I am suprised someone has not asked if you are single! lol

That sounds like and excellent plan. You'll have fun and still have a home base to come back to that's way more manageable for you. Good Luck!!

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Vickie

Unfortunately, we don't have access to all the PMs from eligible men she's probably receiving. :haha: :haha:

Some would say that a "man" investment will lose value quicker than the SUV and RV :haha:

Love and leave them or they'll steal your dreams!

Trust me ....I'm married

AMEN, Sister!!! ( I WAS married!)

Actually, I have dreams of an Amazon Society and keeping men only for sex (and that's just the REALLY good ONES!!! and heavy labor activities! LOL!!! :yeeha:

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"TIMSHEL"
Spoiler ALERT: For those of you who've never read Steinbeck's "East of Eden".... timshel means "thou mayest".